PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Researchers uncover hidden infection route of major bacterial pathogen

2014-09-02
(Press-News.org) Researchers at the University of Liverpool's Institute of Infection and Global Health have discovered the pattern of infection of the bacterium responsible for causing severe lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is usually harmless to humans, but in people with cystic fibrosis (CF) or who have weakened immune systems – such as those who have had an operation or treatment for cancer – it can cause infections that are resistant to antibiotics. In CF patients in particular, infections can be impossible to eradicate from the lungs.

The team from the University made their discovery by studying the bacteria in a newly developed model, which closely reflected the human disease condition. By using this model, they showed for the first time that Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonised the nasopharynx – the part of the body which connects the back of the nose to the back of the mouth – long term and then subsequently migrated down into the lungs to cause chronic infection.

Joint first author of the study, microbiologist Dr Jo Fothergill said: "We have discovered that the nasopharynx acts as a silent reservoir for bacteria from which more serious infections in the lungs can develop."

Immunologist Dr Dan Neill, who is the other first author added: "This finding may explain why patients often suffer from recurrent infections with the same bacterial strain as continual re-infection of the lungs from the upper airways can take place."

The researchers found that Pseudomonas aeruginosa adapts while in the nasopharynx, and following this adaptation process travels to infect areas such as the lungs, which people with lung conditions find hard to prevent.

Previous studies have focused only on the lungs, so this new understanding of how the bacteria establishes infection in the upper respiratory tract prior to development of chronic lung infection provides a perfect new opportunity for more effective development of treatments at the initial site of infection.

Professors Aras Kadioglu and Craig Winstanley were the senior authors who led the study. Professor Kadioglu said: "A better understanding of the way these bacteria colonise and adapt to the human body provides important new information about how we might prevent this process in more vulnerable people."

"It is clear that antibiotics are not an effective treatment for these infections once established in the lung, so something else needs to be developed urgently, and targeting the infection at the site of entry before chronic infection develops is one way forward."

INFORMATION: Dr Fothergill is funded by the Leverhulme Trust, Dr Neill is funded by the Institute of Infection & Global Health. The paper 'Pseudomonas aeruginosa adaptation in the nasopharyngeal reservoir leads to migration and persistence in the lungs' was published in the journal Nature Communications.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Aging gracefully: Diving seabirds shed light on declines with age

Aging gracefully: Diving seabirds shed light on declines with age
2014-09-02
Scientists who studied long-lived diving birds, which represent valuable models to examine aging in the wild, found that blood oxygen stores, resting metabolism and thyroid hormone levels all declined with age, although diving performance did not. Apparently, physiological changes do occur with age in long-lived species, but they may have no detectable effect on behavioral performance. The Functional Ecology findings suggest that reductions in metabolism with age can be viewed as strategic restraint on the part of individuals who are likely to encounter energy-related ...

Could poor stomach absorption of drugs reduce autism medications' effectiveness?

2014-09-02
Recent research has revealed that many children and adults with autism experience gastrointestinal symptoms and that such symptoms can impact the absorption and availability of medications. Because approximately 35% of people with autism take at least one psychotropic medication to help control their symptoms, the authors of a Journal of Clinical Pharmacology commentary are calling for a formal evaluation of the potential relationship between gastrointestinal symptoms and the effectiveness of autism medications. Alternative modes of drug administration may be needed to ...

Modern population boom traced to pre-industrial roots

2014-09-02
The foundation of the human population explosion, commonly attributed to a sudden surge in industrialization and public health during the 18th and 19th centuries, was actually laid as far back as 2,000 years ago, suggests an extended model of detailed demographic and archeological data. The Public Library of Science One (PLOS ONE) recently published the analytical framework developed by Aaron Stutz, an associate professor of anthropology at Emory University's Oxford College. "The industrial revolution and public health improvements were proximate reasons that more people ...

New name for symptoms associated with menopause

2014-09-02
Experts who reviewed the terminology associated with genitourinary tract symptoms related to menopause—currently referred to as vulvovaginal atrophy—have agreed that the term genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) is a medically more accurate, all-encompassing, and a more publicly acceptable term. Their thoughts are published in a recent Journal of Sexual Medicine article. Going forward, GSM will encompass a collection of symptoms and signs associated with a decrease in estrogen and other sex steroids and may include genital symptoms of dryness, burning, and irritation; ...

Extinctions during human era worse than thought

2014-09-02
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — It's hard to comprehend how bad the current rate of species extinction around the world has become without knowing what it was before people came along. The newest estimate is that the pre-human rate was 10 times lower than scientists had thought, which means that the current level is 10 times worse. Extinctions are about 1,000 times more frequent now than in the 60 million years before people came along. The explanation from lead author Jurriaan de Vos, a Brown University postdoctoral researcher, senior author Stuart Pimm, a Duke ...

Time to take notice and tackle heart failure

Time to take notice and tackle heart failure
2014-09-02
Experts have sounded a call to action for policy makers at local, national, and international levels to promote heart failure prevention, improve heart failure awareness among healthcare professionals, ensure equity of care for all patients with heart failure, support and empower patients and their caregivers, and promote heart failure research. Despite the increasing numbers of people living with and dying from heart failure, awareness of the disease is low among the public, politicians, and even some healthcare professionals. Although there is no cure for heart failure, ...

Chinese scientists' team efforts in dissecting rice complex agronomic traits in recent years

Chinese scientists team efforts in dissecting rice complex agronomic traits in recent years
2014-09-02
Rice is a main food source for more than half of the global population and is a model plant for genome-based research. Since the turn of the century, Chinese scientists have embarked on a "Long March" toward more intricate understanding of the complex agronomic traits of rice, spurred in part by the completion of the draft genome sequence of the indica variety 93-11 and a fine sequence analysis of chromosome 4 of the japonica variety Nipponbare. These researchers "have made crucial contributions to international efforts in sequencing the rice genome," report Jianru Zuo ...

Childhood trauma could lead to adult obesity

2014-09-02
Being subjected to abuse during childhood entails a markedly increased risk of developing obesity as an adult. This is the conclusion of a meta-analysis carried out on previous studies, which included a total of 112,000 participants. The analysis was conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, and has been published in the journal Obesity Reviews. "The study clearly shows that difficult life events leave traces which can manifest as disease much later in life. The mechanisms behind this process include stress, negative patterns of thought and emotions, ...

Scientists obtain new data on the weather 10,000 years ago from sediments of a lake in Sierra Nevada

Scientists obtain new data on the weather 10,000 years ago from sediments of a lake in Sierra Nevada
2014-09-02
A research project which counts with the participation of the University of Granada has revealed new data on the climate change that took place in the Iberian Peninsula around the mid Holocene (around 6.000 years ago), when the amount of atmospheric dust coming from the Sahara increased. The data came from a study of the sediments found in an Alpine lake in Sierra Nevada (Granada) This study, published in the journal Chemical Geology, is based on the sedimentation of atmospheric dust from the Sahara, a very frequent phenomenon in the South of the Iberian Peninsula. This ...

Muslim headscarf may buffer against negative body image among women

2014-09-02
Researchers have found that British Muslim women who wear a hijab generally have more positive body image, are less reliant on media messages about beauty ideals, and place less importance on appearance than those who do not wear a hijab. These effects appear to be driven by use of a hijab specifically, rather than religiosity. "While we shouldn't assume that wearing the hijab immunizes Muslim women from negative body image, our results do suggest that wearing the hijab may help some women reject prescriptive beauty ideals," said Dr. Viren Swami, lead author of the British ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Modesty and boastfulness – perception depends on usual performance

Do sweeteners increase your appetite? New evidence from randomised controlled trial says no 

Women with obesity do not need to gain weight during pregnancy, new study suggests

Individuals with multiple sclerosis face substantially greater risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19, despite high rates of vaccination

Study shows obesity in childhood associated with a more than doubling of risk of developing multiple sclerosis in early adulthood

Rice Emerging Scholars Program receives $2.5M NSF grant to boost STEM education

Virtual rehabilitation provides benefits for stroke recovery

Generative AI develops potential new drugs for antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Biofuels could help island nations survive a global catastrophe, study suggests

NJIT research team discovering how fluids behave in nanopores with NSF grant

New study shows association of historical housing discrimination and shortfalls in colon cancer treatment

Social media use may help to empower plastic surgery patients

Q&A: How to train AI when you don't have enough data

Wayne State University researchers uncover potential treatment targets for Zika virus-related eye abnormalities

Discovering Van Gogh in the wild: scientists unveil a new gecko species

Small birds spice up the already diverse diet of spotted hyenas in Namibia

Imaging detects transient “hypoxic pockets” in the mouse brain

Dissolved organic matter could be used to track and improve the health of freshwaters

Indoor air quality standards in public buildings would boost health and economy, say international experts

Positive associations between premenstrual disorders and perinatal depression

New imaging method illuminates oxygen's journey in the brain

Researchers discover key gene for toxic alkaloid in barley

New approach to monitoring freshwater quality can identify sources of pollution, and predict their effects

Bidirectional link between premenstrual disorders and perinatal depression

Cell division quality control ‘stopwatch’ uncovered

Vaccine protects cattle from bovine tuberculosis, may eliminate disease

Andrew Siemion to receive the SETI Institute’s 2024 Drake Award

New study shows how the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus enters our cells

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy proves effective for locally advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma

Study flips treatment paradigm in bilateral Wilms tumor, shows resistance to chemotherapy may point toward favorable outcomes

[Press-News.org] Researchers uncover hidden infection route of major bacterial pathogen